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Obama to Meet with Atheist Groups on Friday
American Atheists will be among the non-believer groups led by the Secular Coalition for America for an historic briefing with the Obama Administration in Washington, DC, on Friday, 26 February 2010 CE.
Representatives of several leading Atheist, Freethought, and Humanist organizations will gather in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, at 11:00 AM ET, for the briefing.
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said "We are delighted that we will get the chance to speak to and to hear from the Obama administration at the briefing with the Secular Coalition for America tomorrow. We will not be seeking support for Atheism from the federal administration, because we know they must be neutral and because we are confident that our conclusions can compete and win in the marketplace of ideas, unaided by government. We seek an end to special rights for religious ideas and beliefs--in all regulations, laws, procedures, and pronouncements. The privileging of religiosity violates the First Amendment and good sense."
The American Atheists delegation will include Dr. Buckner; AA Vice President and National Spokesperson Dave Silverman; Vice President and Military Director Kathleen Johnson; Indra Zuno, AA general member, translator, and writer; Ellen Birch, Chair of the American Atheists Life Membership Committee and systems engineer; and Camille A. Brewer, AA general member, political/freethought activist and art expert.
"We will be represented by a wonderful cross-section of our membership," Said Dr. Buckner. "Atheists come from across the social, ethnic, economic, and political spectra."
Comments
Our country has always subsidized ideas and invention
I don't know what special rights theistic faith groups are getting for their unique ideas and beliefs that are not available for atheists now. If atheists want to build hospitals to serve the sick and dying or create organizations to spread their belief that there is no God and wish to have a tax-exempt 501c-3 status, then I can't imagine that they are being deprived of this right.
There is no requirement for
churches to build hospitals or serve the sick or dying to get a tax exemption. Some do this but not all.
Churches do not have to report financial earnings like other non-profit organizations. Churches do not have to be non-profit even.
As we all know, churches make profits.
There is no equal ability for an atheist group as for as these are concerned.
Your imagination is wrong in more than one way. Look at facts, not just your imagination for reality.
Invention indeed
This is not about subsidy. It's about equal protection under the law , minority rights, and protecting civil institutions from religion , particularly education , but in many other areas as well.
When the government has subsidized faith groups as a whole, it usually does not discriminate because of the Consitutional concerns. Also, consider that elevating 100 religions is putting 99 times the support for a given faith into other religions. Existentially, churches should be against subsidy. However, since they are mostly just capital ventures, they have to endure the compeition out of mutual shame.
Atheists don't get earmarks for mega-churches on military bases
John Carter (R) Texas, has placed an earmark for Fort Hood of $17,500,000 in last year’s Defense Authorization Act, and this year’s House bill adds an $8,500,000 addition to the project, for a total of $26,000,000. There is another earmark of $14,400,000 for a mega- church for Fort Campbell, already approved in both the House and Senate versions of this year’s bill.
Atheists are left out, but so are all the other religions.
Secularity finally?
maybe for once this will start the secular train going and leave religion out of government